ESL Phrases for Performing Well in Business Meetings

One of the most common requirements of business English is holding meetings in English. The following sections provide useful language and phrases for conducting meetings and making contributions to a meeting. Conducting a Meeting These phrases are useful if you need to run  a meeting. Opening Good morning/afternoon, everyone.If we are all here, lets get started / start the meeting / start. Welcoming and Introducing Please join me in welcoming (name of participant)Were pleased to welcome (name of participant)Id like to extend a warm welcome to (name of participant)Its a pleasure to welcome (name of participant)Id like to introduce (name of participant) Stating the Principal Objectives Were here today to ...Id like to make sure that we ...Our main aim today is to ...Ive called this meeting in order to ... Giving Apologies for Someone Who is Absent Im afraid.., (name of participant) cant be with us today. She is in...Unfortunately, (name of participant) ... will not be with us to day because he ...I have received apologies for absence from (name of participant), who is in (place). Reading the Minutes (notes) of the Last Meeting To begin with Id like to quickly go through the minutes of our last meeting.First, lets go over the report from the last meeting, which was held on (date)Here are the minutes from our last meeting, which was on (date) Dealing with Recent Developments Jack, can you tell us how the XYZ project is progressing?Jack, how is the XYZ project coming along?John, have you completed the report on the new accounting package?Has everyone received a copy of the Tate Foundation report on current marketing trends? Moving Forward So, if there is nothing else we need to discuss, lets move on to todays agenda.Shall we get down to business?Is there Any Other Business?If there are no further developments, Id like to move on to todays topic. Introducing the Agenda Have you all received a copy of the agenda?There are X items on the agenda. First, ... second, ... third, ... lastly, ...Shall we take the points in this order?If you dont mind, Id like to go in order today.skip item 1 and move on to item 3I suggest we take item 2 last. Allocating Roles (secretary, participants) (name of participant) has agreed to take the minutes.(name of participant), would you mind  taking the minutes?(name of participant) has kindly agreed to give us a report on ...(name of participant) will lead point 1, (name of participant) point 2, and (name of participant) point 3.(name of participant), would you mind taking notes today? Agreeing on the Ground Rules for the Meeting (contributions, timing, decision-making, etc.) We will first hear a short report on each point first, followed by a discussion of ...I suggest we go round the table first.Lets make sure we finish by ...Id suggest we ...There will be five minutes for each item.Well have to keep each item to 15 minutes. Otherwise well never get through. Introducing the First Item on the Agenda So, lets start with ...Id suggest we start with...Why dont we start with...So, the first item on the agenda isPete, would you like to kick off?Shall we start with ...(name of participant), would you like to introduce this item? Closing an Item I think that takes care of the first item.Shall we leave that item?Why dont we move on to...If nobody has anything else to add, lets ... Next Item Lets move onto the next itemNow that weve discussed X, lets now ...The next item on todays agenda is...Now we come to the question of. Giving Control to the Next Participant Id like to hand over to (name of participant), who is going to lead the next point.Next, (name of participant) is going to take us through ...Now, Id like to introduce (name of participant) who is going to ... Summarizing Before we close todays meeting, let me just summarize the main points.Let me quickly go over todays main points.To sum up, ...,.OK, why dont we quickly summarize what weve done today.In brief, ...Shall I go over the main points? Keeping the Meeting On Target (time, relevance, decisions) Were running short of time.Well, that seems to be all the time we have today.Please be brief.Im afraid weve run out of time.Im afraid thats outside the scope of this meeting.Lets get back on track, why dont we?Thats not really why were here today.Why dont we return to the main focus of todays meeting.Well have to leave that to another time.Were beginning to lose sight of the main point.Keep to the point, please.I think wed better leave that for another meeting.Are we ready to make a decision? Finishing Up Right, it looks as though weve covered the main items.If there are no other comments, Id like to wrap this meeting up.Lets bring this to a close for today.Is there Any Other Business? Suggesting and Agreeing on Time, Date and Place for the Next Meeting Can we set the date for the next meeting, please?So, the next meeting will be on ... (day), the . . . (date) of.. . (month) at ...Lets next meet on ... (day), the . . . (date) of.. . (month) at ... What about the following Wednesday? How is that? Thanking Participants for Attending Id like to thank Marianne and Jeremy for coming over from London.Thank you all for attending.Thanks for your participation. Closing the Meeting The meeting is finished, well see each other next ...The meeting is closed.I declare the meeting closed. Meeting Participation Vocabulary The following phrases are used to participate in a meeting. These phrases are useful for expressing your ideas and giving input during  a meeting. Getting the Chairpersons Attention (Mister/Madam) chairman.May I have a word?If I may, I think...Excuse me for interrupting.May I come in here? Giving Opinions Im positive that...I (really) feel that...In my opinion...The way I see things...If you ask me,... I tend to think that... Asking for Opinions Are you positive that...Do you (really) think that...(name of participant) can we get your input?How do you feel about...? Commenting Thats interesting.I never thought about it that way before.Good point!I get your point.I see what you mean. Agreeing I totally agree with you.Exactly!Thats (exactly) the way I feel.I have to agree with (name of participant). Disagreeing Unfortunately, I see it differently.Up to a point I agree with you, but...(Im afraid) I cant agree Advising and Suggesting Lets...We should...Why dont you....How/What about...I suggest/recommend that... Clarifying Let me spell out...Have I made that clear?Do you see what Im getting at?Let me put this another way...Id just like to repeat that... Requesting Information Please, could you...Id like you to...Would you mind...I wonder if you could... Asking for Repetition Im afraid I didnt understand that. Could you repeat what you just said?I didnt catch that. Could you repeat that, please?I missed that. Could you say it again, please?Could you run that by me one more time? Asking for Clarification I dont quite follow you. What exactly do you mean?Im afraid I dont quite understand what your are getting at.Could you explain to me how that is going to work?I dont see what you mean. Could we have some more details, please? Asking for Verification You did say next week, didnt you? (did is stressed)Do you mean that...?Is it true that...? Asking for Spelling Could you spell that, please?Would you mind spelling that for me, please? Asking for Contributions We havent heard from you yet, (name of participant).What do you think about this proposal?Would you like to add anything, (name of participant)?Has anyone else got anything to contribute?Are there any more comments? Correcting Information Sorry, I think you misunderstood what I said.Sorry, thats not quite right.Im afraid you dont understand what Im saying.Thats not quite what I had in mind.Thats not what I meant. Meeting Format Meetings generally follow a more or less similar structure and can be divided into the following parts: I - Introductions Opening the MeetingWelcoming and Introducing ParticipantsStating the Principal Objectives of a MeetingGiving Apologies for Someone Who is Absent II - Reviewing Past Business Reading the Minutes (notes) of the Last MeetingDealing with Recent Developments III - Beginning the Meeting Introducing the AgendaAllocating Roles (secretary, participants)Agreeing on the Ground Rules for the Meeting (contributions, timing, decision-making, etc.) IV - Discussing Items Introducing the First Item on the AgendaClosing an ItemNext ItemGiving Control to the Next Participant V - Finishing the Meeting SummarizingFinishing UpSuggesting and Agreeing  on Time, Date and Place for the Next MeetingThanking Participants for AttendingClosing the Meeting

Nick Hornby a Long Way Down Free Essays

His first book Fever Pitch was released in 1992. It’s an autobiographical story about his fanatical support for Arsenal Football Club. High Fidelity — his second book and first novel — was published in 1995. We will write a custom essay sample on Nick Hornby: a Long Way Down or any similar topic only for you Order Now The novel was adapted into a film in 2000 and a Broadway musical in 2006. For his second novel About a Boy (1998) Hornby received the E. M. Forster Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult starred in the 2002 film version. A Long Way Down was published in 2005 in the UK. The book received mixed reviews from critics. Johnny Depp bought the rights to the book before it was even published and has since hired writer D. V. DeVincentis, who previously wrote the script for the film High Fidelity, to write the screenplay. The story takes place in London sometime these days. Martin Sharp – Martin Sharp is a former celebrity. We don’t know his exact age but he is in his 40-s. Martin’s life was perfect: he had a wife and two little daughters, a well-paid job and was successful. He was host of a famous show but Martin made the mistake of sleeping with a 15 years old girl, for which he spent three months in prison. This made him even more popular as his case was stripped in the yellow press. When he is released from prison he discovers that his marriage is ruined. From that point he works for a cable TV channel with low popularity and has an affair with Penny, his former colleague. He does not make an effort to see his daughters or to clarify the tense situation with his wife. He’s very unhappy about his situation and feels that he has â€Å"pissed his life away† and that’s why he wants to end his life. Maureen – Maureen is a 51-year-old single mother of a disabled son named Matty. Her whole life is turning around Matty. She believes that it is her cross she must bear for her mistake (Matty was born out of wedlock). She has led a completely closed-in life for two decades raising him. Before she got Matty she was employed and outgoing. This has changed because she has to care for Matty the whole day. She has no freedom and free time except the services at church she attends every Sunday. She wants to get rid of her problems, which seems impossible to her. That is why she wants to commit suicide. Jess Crichton – Jess is an eighteen-year-old girl. She does not have real friends. Jess is a person who pisses people off very quickly with her direct and rude character because she says everything that comes to her mind. Jess’s father is a local politician and the family is completed by her mother. Her sister Jen, who is really important to her, left the family a few years ago and is thought to have committed suicide. The whole family, especially the mother and Jess, are still very upset about it. She wants to commit suicide by jumping from the tower block because of her family problems and losing her ex-boyfriend though it’s also slightly impulsive. JJ – JJ is an American who came to London with his girlfriend Lizzy. He used to play in a band called â€Å"Big Yellow† and toured across the whole UK. For Lizzy he gave up his dream of becoming a rock star, the band broke up and Lizzy dumped him. Now he earns money by delivering pizza, a fact that he is really unhappy with. He compares his own ambition for suicide with the ambitions of well-known musicians These four strangers happen to meet on the roof of a high building called Topper’s House in London on New Year’s Eve, each with the intent of committing suicide. Their plans for death in solitude, however, are ruined when they meet. After telling their individual stories to the others, they decide to hold off on jumping and to protect themselves. Thus a group of four unfortunate and very individual people forms. Jess’ condition not to jump is that they help her to find her ex-boyfriend Chas. So they take a taxi and drive to the party they suppose Chas to be at. After finding and talking to Chas they decide to go to Martin’s place where they find Penny, who has obviously been crying. After this event the press begins to chase them. The newspapers claim that Martin has slept with Jess and that they concluded a suicidal-pact. Jess suggests that they can try to profit from the suicidal-report in the newspaper. Jess tells a reporter that they saw an angel that looked like Matt Damon, who saved them from jumping. Because of this silly lie their lives get worse. They go on vacation together and then plan next meeting for Saint Valentine’s Day. They meet at 8 o’clock on the roof of Topper’s House on Saint Valentine’s Day. While they have a conversation, they detect a young man who is planning to jump from the roof. They try to stop him from committing suicide but he jumps. They are really taken aback. They decide to go home and to meet the following afternoon. Martin tells them about a newspaper article he read according to which people who want to commit suicide need 90 days to overcome their ambition. So they decide to wait with their decision until the 31st of March. A lot of event happens during these three months. Things improve a bit. Maureen, JJ and Martin have new jobs now. Martin teaches pupils and wants to start a new life, JJ is a busker and is happy to make music again and Maureen works in a newspaper-store. Jess’s relationships with her family come to normal. The ninety days have passed and they meet in front of the Topper’s House again. They decide to go on the roof. On top, while watching the London Eye they realize that their lives are not so bad. They decide to wait with killing themselves for another six months. The book is divided into 3 big parts. And every big part consists of many small ones, each is written in the first-person narration from the points of view of each character. The language differs significantly from one character to another. Jess and JJ use a lot of slang, rude words. It’s interesting to compare British and American languages, thus JJ is an American. Though this is a book about four suicidal people, it is written in rather humorous and witty way. There are a number of laugh-out-loud passages, but also moments of real heartbreak (scenes with Maureen and her son, the suicide of a young man) Ideas Jess, Martin, and Maureen can be seen to represent Freud’s concepts of the Id, Ego, and Superego. The person’s change and development, overcoming difficulties and love for life are the main ideas of the book. Though the changes in the characters appear slight, Hornby shows that such changes are often the ones that lead to real progress in the right direction How to cite Nick Hornby: a Long Way Down, Papers

The Redemption of Jean Val Jean in Les Mis Essay Example

The Redemption of Jean Val Jean in Les Mis Essay You no longer belong to evil, but to good.It is your soul I am buying for you.I withdraw it from the dark thoughts and from the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God! (Hugo, 30)This dramatic statement uttered by the bishop, Magloire in Victor Hugos Les Misrables , pierced though the many coarse protective outer layers of Jean Valjean, awakening his slumbering soul.The bishops overall kindness and magnanimity after nineteen years of abuse in the galley sends Valjean into a shock.A multitude of new sensations (30) fill his powerful body as his conscience stretches and yawns ; awakening from nearly two decades of hibernation.Emotions courses through him so strong, he broke down weeping violently, thefirst salty tears his cheeks had felt in years.A single night with the saintly bishop Magloire catalyzes Valjeans soul to revive.This marks the beginning of a long journey to rediscover himself; the true Jean Valjean hiding beneath his coarse appearance.This rebirth occurs in several sta ges, each stage a accompanied by a pseudonym, until the end when he acts under his original name Jean Valjean, a completely altered man.Jean Valjean grows from a hardened convict in the beginning, to a judicial mayor, a compassionate father, a war hero, to an almost saint like reinvention of himself willing to sacrifice everything. A man with a knapsack and a rope and a terrible-looking face (12) is the original image of Jean Valjean the reader isfirst acquainted with.This wretched appearance (6) is the result of a lifetime of poverty followed by nineteen years of horror and abuse as a galley slave.So long he goes without any intimate relationships the only emotion known to him is the will to survive.He displays shame over who he is.Nineteen years of hard labor hardened and dehumanized him so; he does not deem himsel

Makes Me Wanna Holler essays

Makes Me Wanna Holler essays This book is about Nathan's life,and the choices he made.He basically grew up in the 60's and 70's.Where the average black male had few choices for a good future.Nathan grew up being a very angry person inside,because of the way blacks were treated by the white man.He started hanging out with friends,and they formed a gang.They started doing drugs,running trains on girls,and fighting with other gangs. Nathan however,graduated from high school,and he also graduated to armed robbery that landed him in prison.While in prison he became a muslum,and was released early on good behavior.He went to college,and eventually married because of his muslum faith.He finished college,but the marriage didn't last,and he still was re-living his past.Re-married again moved to Atlanta,and still had a lot of anger towards the white man.His wife from his second marriage took him threw a whole lot of changes,but he tried to make it work because they had two kids.Eventually he got his big break,and now he is a best selling writer,and journalist. I think this book is a good read,for anybody who wants to know how it was being black,and growing up in the 60's and 70's.The difficult chalenges,and choices that black's faced.I gave this book an 8,because I grew up in that time and I can relate to a lot of the things that he experienced. ...

Geography of the Southern Hemisphere and Facts

Geography of the Southern Hemisphere and Facts The Southern Hemisphere is the southern portion or half of the Earth. It begins at the equator at 0 degrees latitude and continues south into higher latitudes until it reaches 90 degrees south, the South Pole in the middle of Antarctica. The word hemisphere itself specifically means half of a sphere, and because the earth is spherical (although it is considered an oblate sphere) a hemisphere is half. Geography and Climate of the Southern Hemisphere In the Northern Hemisphere, the majority of the area is composed of land masses instead of water. In comparison, the Southern Hemisphere has fewer land masses and more water. The South Pacific, South Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and various seas such as the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand and the Weddell Sea near Antarctica make up around 80.9 percent of the Southern Hemisphere. The land comprises only 19.1 percent. The continents making up the Southern Hemisphere include all of Antarctica, around one third of Africa, most of South America, and nearly all of Australia. Because of the large presence of water in the Southern Hemisphere, the climate in the Earths southern half is milder overall than the Northern Hemisphere. In general, water heats and cools more slowly than land so water near any land area usually has a moderating effect on the lands climate. Since water surrounds land in much of the Southern Hemisphere, more of it is moderated than in the Northern Hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere, like the Northern Hemisphere, is also divided into several different regions based on climate. The most prevalent are the southern temperate zone, which runs from the Tropic of Capricorn to the beginning of the Arctic Circle at 66.5 degrees south. This area features a temperate climate which generally has large amounts of precipitation, cold winters, and warm summers. Some countries included in the southern temperate zone include most of Chile, all of New Zealand and Uruguay. The area directly north of the southern temperate zone and lying between the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn are known as the tropics- an area which has warm temperatures and precipitation year round. South of the southern temperate zone is the Antarctic Circle and the Antarctic continent. Antarctica, unlike the rest of the Southern Hemisphere, is not moderated by the large presence of water because it is a very large land mass. In addition, it is considerably colder than the Arctic in the Northern Hemisphere for the same reason. Summer in the Southern Hemisphere lasts from around December 21 to the vernal equinox around March 20. Winter lasts from around June 21 to the autumnal equinox around September 21. These dates are due to the Earths axial tilt and from the period of December 21 to March 20, the southern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, while during the June 21 to September 21 interval, it is tilted away from the sun. The Coriolis Effect and the Southern Hemisphere An important component of physical geography in the Southern Hemisphere is the Coriolis Effect and the specific direction that objects are deflected in Earths southern half. In the southern hemisphere, any object moving over the Earths surface deflects to the left. Because of this, any large patterns in air or water turn counterclockwise south of the equator. For example, there are many large oceanic gyres in the North Atlantic and North Pacific- all of which turn counterclockwise. In the Northern Hemisphere, these directions are reversed because objects are deflected to the right. In addition, the left deflection of objects impacts the flows of air over the Earth. A high-pressure system, for example, is an area where the atmospheric pressure is greater than that of the surrounding area. In the Southern Hemisphere, these move counterclockwise because of the Coriolis Effect. By contrast, low-pressure systems or areas where atmospheric pressure is less than that of the surrounding area move clockwise because of the Coriolis Effect in the Southern Hemisphere. Population and the Southern Hemisphere Because the Southern Hemisphere has less land area than the Northern Hemisphere it should be noted that population is lower in Earths southern half than in the north. The majority of Earths population and its largest cities are in the Northern Hemisphere, although there are large cities such as Lima, Peru, Cape Town, South Africa, Santiago, Chile, and Auckland, New Zealand. Antarctica is the largest landmass in the Southern Hemisphere and it is the worlds largest cold desert. Although it is the largest area of land in the Southern Hemisphere, it is not populated because of its extremely harsh climate and the difficulty of building permanent settlements there. Any human development that has taken place in Antarctica consists of scientific research stations- most of which are operated only during the summer. In addition to people, however, the Southern Hemisphere is incredibly biodiverse as the majority of the worlds tropical rainforests are in this region. For example, the Amazon Rainforest is almost entirely in the Southern Hemisphere as are biodiverse places such as Madagascar and New Zealand. Antarctica also has a large variety of species adapted to its harsh climates such as emperor penguins, seals, whales and various types of plants and algae.

How God Organizes People for Effective Action Essay

How God Organizes People for Effective Action - Essay Example Our assigned tasks fit together to complete His plan. God views each of us as a very important puzzle piece, existing to complete the whole. For instance, the Bible speaks of King David who greatly enhanced and extended the kingdom of Israel and established the Judean dynasty. This biblical figure was indeed a historical character. According to Daniel Hillel in his book The Natural History of the Bible, in 1993, excavations at Tel Dan, at the far northern-tip of the state of Israel, uncovered an inscription with an explicit mention of the "House of David". Dr. Michael Denton in his book Nature's Destiny, concluded that, "All the evidence available in the biological sciences supports the core proposition of traditional natural theology -that the cosmos is a specially designed whole with life and mankind as its fundamental goal and purpose, a whole in which all facets of reality, from the size of galaxies to the thermal capacity of water, have their meaning and explanation in this central fact." The world is custom-made for our essence. Daniel Hillel describes in his book, The Natural History of the Bible, the venture to the Promised Land.

Modern Business Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Modern Business - Annotated Bibliography Example 'Chandler, A D', International Encyclopedia of Business and Management, 1996, pp.612-7 C.J.Schmitz, The Growth of Big Business in the United States and Western Europe, 1850-1939 (London: Macmillan, 1993) M E Porter, 'The Competitive Advantage of Nations', Harvard Business Review, March-April 1990, pp.73-93 f. You should note that the following are classics on the course's topic matter and know of their existence, but it is not so essential to read them directly: A.Gershenkron, Economic Backwardness in Historical Perspective (Harvard University Press, 1962) S.Kuznets, Modern Economic Growth: Rate, Structure, and Spread (Yale University Press, 1966) D.C.North, Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance (Cambridge University Press, 1990) M.Weber, Economy and Society (1917) g. Useful sources of on-line information, statistics, and national surveys will, however, be particularly useful: United Nations - Statistics Division: www.unstats.un.org/unsd/snaama/Introduction United Nations Conference on Trade and Development: www.unctad.org/Templates/StartPage United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations: www.unctc.unctad.org/aspx.index.aspx World Bank: www.worldbank.org International Monetary Fund: www.imf.org Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development: www.oecd.statsportal Central Intelligence Agency: www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook Institute of Management Development: www.imd.ch/wccc World Economic Forum: www.weforum.org Research and development: http://www.finfacts.com/irelandbusinessnews/publish/article_10003718.shtml All of these organisations also provide statistics and publications in hard copy. The World Economic Forum publishes...Baumol etal., Convergence of Productivity: Cross-national Studies and Historical Evidence (1994) B Dornseifer and J Kocka, 'The Impact of the Preindustrial Heritage: Reconsiderations on the German Pattern of Corporate Development in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries, Industrial and Corporate Change, vol 2 (1993) P.Krugman, 'Competitiveness: A Dangerous Obsession', Foreign Affairs, March-April 1994, pp.28-44, and 'Proving My Point', Foreign Affairs, July-August 1994, pp.198-203. Reprinted in P.Krugman, Pop Internationalism (MIT Press, 1996), pp.3-33. [382 KRU] A.L.Kallenberg, The Comparative Study of Business Organizations and their Employees', in C.Calhoun (ed.), Comparative Social Research vol. 12 (1990) [SL offprint. NB. This is shelved under Kallenberg not Calhoun.] R.Fitzgerald and C.Rowley, 'From Hands To Resources: Explanation, Perspective And History', in Human Resources and the Firm in International Perspective, Vol.I (London: Edward Elgar, 1996), [SL 331 HUM] B Dornseifer and J Kocka, 'The Impact of the Preindustrial Heritage: Reconsiderations on the German Pattern of Corporate Development in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries, Industrial and Corporate Change, vol 2 (1993) J Williams, C Haslam, and K Williams, 'Bad Work Practices and Good Management Practices: the Consequences of the Exte